Schedule for September 7, 2010 (all times ET)
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6:00am
To solve Istanbul's crippling traffic jams, engineers have conceived the most ambitious underwater train-and-tunnel project ever. It involves building over half a mile of tunnel 640 feet below the waters surface, in the middle of a deadly earthquake zone. Excavations for the tunnel project have uncovered dozens of ancient shipwrecks and the earliest architectural relics ever discovered. Will Istanbul bulldoze its past to pave a path to its future?
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7:00am
Raven Tales: Raven and the First People
Raven and his friends Eagle and Frog bask in a world full of light and life. Then Frog makes a miraculous discovery: a community of tiny men living inside a clamshell. Eagle finds them quite unpleasant to look at, but Raven is intrigued, and attempts to teach them how to make fire, to hunt, even to fly. Raven's attempts end badly, and when Frog discovers another clamshell, this one with women, their plans again go awry. The three decide the world may be better off without men and women, but The First People have ideas of their own.
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7:30am
Undersea Edens: Desert to Reef
At the edge of Western Australia's desert lies a marine reserve known as Ningaloo Reef. Although only 2% the size of the Great Barrier Reef, the Ningaloo rivals its larger counterpart in diversity. Warm and cold sea currents from the Indian Ocean converge here, bringing new life from far away places, including schools of venomous striped eel catfish, shoals of sardines, giant manta rays and scores of whale sharks. There are few wilderness areas left on Earth that remain as untainted by human expansion as this exquisite coastal fringing reef.
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8:00am
Examine the fast, fun, futuristic, and sometimes fatal world of hovercraft: from small racers that reach speeds up to eighty-five mph to gigantic military lifters able to lift up to sixty tons-all on a cushion of air.
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9:00am
The exploding system of global communications has made life more convenient, more efficient, and more dangerous. From online and cell phone communications to the operation of power grids and nuclear reactors, our dependence on giant systems has never been greater-or more subject to failure.
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10:00am
Who or what brought history's most famous airship burning to the ground? Relive the tragedy that shocked the world and sent one man on a tireless mission to answer that question. Through detailed reconstruction of the events, eyewitness testimony, the memories of living survivors, and the interpretation of modern day experts, we recount this disaster and the investigation that followed.
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12:00pm
Bond...James Bond. Is this man of mystery a personification of a real spy or a fantasy spun by author Ian Fleming? Fleming wanted his suave secret agent to be the ultimate spy - but who provided the inspiration? Discover Fleming's wartime service in naval intelligence, and meet two men who could have supplied the basis for Bond's character. Uncover the facts behind the fiction - the people, places and even the gadgets that inspired the iconic spy.
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1:00pm
To solve Istanbul's crippling traffic jams, engineers have conceived the most ambitious underwater train-and-tunnel project ever. It involves building over half a mile of tunnel 640 feet below the waters surface, in the middle of a deadly earthquake zone. Excavations for the tunnel project have uncovered dozens of ancient shipwrecks and the earliest architectural relics ever discovered. Will Istanbul bulldoze its past to pave a path to its future?
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2:00pm
Undersea Edens: Desert to Reef
At the edge of Western Australia's desert lies a marine reserve known as Ningaloo Reef. Although only 2% the size of the Great Barrier Reef, the Ningaloo rivals its larger counterpart in diversity. Warm and cold sea currents from the Indian Ocean converge here, bringing new life from far away places, including schools of venomous striped eel catfish, shoals of sardines, giant manta rays and scores of whale sharks. There are few wilderness areas left on Earth that remain as untainted by human expansion as this exquisite coastal fringing reef.
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2:30pm
Soul of a People: Writing America's Story
In the grip of the Great Depression, WPA writers searched for America and discovered the Soul of a People. This show explores one of the most controversial public assistance programs of its time and shows nothing less than the creation of America's first ever self-portrait.
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4:05pm
Raven Tales: Raven and the First People
Raven and his friends Eagle and Frog bask in a world full of light and life. Then Frog makes a miraculous discovery: a community of tiny men living inside a clamshell. Eagle finds them quite unpleasant to look at, but Raven is intrigued, and attempts to teach them how to make fire, to hunt, even to fly. Raven's attempts end badly, and when Frog discovers another clamshell, this one with women, their plans again go awry. The three decide the world may be better off without men and women, but The First People have ideas of their own.
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4:30pm
Undersea Edens: Desert to Reef
At the edge of Western Australia's desert lies a marine reserve known as Ningaloo Reef. Although only 2% the size of the Great Barrier Reef, the Ningaloo rivals its larger counterpart in diversity. Warm and cold sea currents from the Indian Ocean converge here, bringing new life from far away places, including schools of venomous striped eel catfish, shoals of sardines, giant manta rays and scores of whale sharks. There are few wilderness areas left on Earth that remain as untainted by human expansion as this exquisite coastal fringing reef.
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5:00pm
Smithsonian Spotlight: Scurlock Studio
Addison Scurlock's photographs in the early 1900s portrayed African Americans in a way not often seen. With the help of his two sons, George and Robert, the Scurlock Studio has mastered his photographs of weddings, graduations, and families. These remarkable photographs stand as a visual record of not only Washington, DC, but of African American culture.
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5:30pm
Stories from the Vaults: Villains and Rogues
Tom takes on the bad guys and digs up some pretty incriminating evidence from the Smithsonian vaults. Tom's investigation unearths photographic evidence from the Crime of the Century, new details on America's first "Lone Gunman": John Wilkes Booth, and creepy facts about everyone's favorite natural villain-the snake.
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6:00pm
Smithsonian Channel's Sound Revolution: Heart of Soul
Explore the history of '60s and '70s soul via important record labels and their artists: Detroit's Motown and Memphis' Stax and Hi Records. Live performances showcase Gladys Knight, Booker T & the MGs, the late Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Al Green, Chaka Khan, and Leela James. Commentary is provided by music critics Nelson George and Rob Bowman, as well as Sweet Honey in the Rock and Nona Hendryx.
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7:00pm
Examine the fast, fun, futuristic, and sometimes fatal world of hovercraft: from small racers that reach speeds up to eighty-five mph to gigantic military lifters able to lift up to sixty tons-all on a cushion of air.
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8:00pm
Enter the playful and "criminal" mind of Peter Gibson, a.k.a. Roadsworth, who took to the streets of Montreal with spray paint, handmade stencils and a sense of humor. For three years, he transformed the city's asphalt markings with his own lighthearted images, turning crosswalks into lines of birthday candles and wrapping traffic dividers in vines. His art amused the public but infuriated city officials. We follow Gibson's journey as he faces prosecution, international celebrity and his own personal struggle to define himself as an artist.
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9:30pm
Once every decade in a small Colombian village, musicians engage in a fierce battle for the title of the Accordion King. Travel down to Colombia, and go behind the scenes of the Vallenato Kings Festival where, each April, the world's greatest accordionists assemble to perform, compete, and celebrate the squeezebox. Meet the players and hear their stories, including professors of the Turco Gil Academy, where over two thousand children dedicate themselves to their instrument, and Yeime, a young girl who overcame cultural stereotypes to become the first woman to win the competition in over forty years.
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11:00pm
Enter the playful and "criminal" mind of Peter Gibson, a.k.a. Roadsworth, who took to the streets of Montreal with spray paint, handmade stencils and a sense of humor. For three years, he transformed the city's asphalt markings with his own lighthearted images, turning crosswalks into lines of birthday candles and wrapping traffic dividers in vines. His art amused the public but infuriated city officials. We follow Gibson's journey as he faces prosecution, international celebrity and his own personal struggle to define himself as an artist.
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12:30am
Once every decade in a small Colombian village, musicians engage in a fierce battle for the title of the Accordion King. Travel down to Colombia, and go behind the scenes of the Vallenato Kings Festival where, each April, the world's greatest accordionists assemble to perform, compete, and celebrate the squeezebox. Meet the players and hear their stories, including professors of the Turco Gil Academy, where over two thousand children dedicate themselves to their instrument, and Yeime, a young girl who overcame cultural stereotypes to become the first woman to win the competition in over forty years.
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2:00am
Examine the fast, fun, futuristic, and sometimes fatal world of hovercraft: from small racers that reach speeds up to eighty-five mph to gigantic military lifters able to lift up to sixty tons-all on a cushion of air.
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3:00am
Smithsonian Channel's Sound Revolution: Heart of Soul
Explore the history of '60s and '70s soul via important record labels and their artists: Detroit's Motown and Memphis' Stax and Hi Records. Live performances showcase Gladys Knight, Booker T & the MGs, the late Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Al Green, Chaka Khan, and Leela James. Commentary is provided by music critics Nelson George and Rob Bowman, as well as Sweet Honey in the Rock and Nona Hendryx.
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4:00am
Who or what brought history's most famous airship burning to the ground? Relive the tragedy that shocked the world and sent one man on a tireless mission to answer that question. Through detailed reconstruction of the events, eyewitness testimony, the memories of living survivors, and the interpretation of modern day experts, we recount this disaster and the investigation that followed.
